The Ukrainian Center for Holocaust Studies (UCHS) was established in 2002. It is a non-governmental organization founded in partnership with I. Kuras Institute for Political and Ethnic Studies of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine. The main directions of the UCHS's activities embrace Holocaust research and Holocaust education.
The research direction comprises regional aspects of the Holocaust on Ukrainian lands; reflection of the Holocaust in the mass-media of the Nazi-occupied Ukraine; Nazi ideology and the mechanisms of its implementation, anti-Semitism and Holocaust denial, comparative research of the Holocaust and other cases of genocide. The UCHS holds scholarly conferences and seminars on these issues.
In frames of the educational activities the UCHS consults Holocaust history teachers of secondary schools and higher educational establishments, promotes the creation of curricula and manuals on the Holocaust, organizes annual competitions of students' research and art works.
Alongside with the main working directions the UCHS is actively involved into publishing and has its own periodical editions: semi-annual scholarly journal "Holocaust and Modernity" and bi-monthly informative-pedagogical bulletin "Lessons of the Holocaust".
The UCHS also participates in international projects in alliance with academic and educational institutions all over the world.

Library of the Ukrainian Center for Holocaust Studies
The Online Catalogue

Dear colleagues! The catalogue of our library is now available online. It is accessible in the section “Library” of the Ukrainian version of our site.
Visit the catalogue...

Exhibition on the genocide of Roma in Transnistria

During 2015-2016 the German organization Bildungswerk für Friedensarbeit (Education for cooperation) was carrying out a project focused on the history of Roma genocide in the so called “Transnistria” – the region between the Dniester and the Southern Bug rivers that was occupied by Romania during the Second World War.
The group of young people, Roma and non-Roma, from Ukraine, Moldova, Germany and Romania visited places in Southern Ukraine, where Roma deported from Romania, Bessarabia and Bukovyna found themselves in 1942-1944. Many of those Roma died of starvation, epidemics and humiliation from local authorities, sometimes – of intentional mass killings. Participants of the trip also met Roma who managed to survive the genocide and local non-Roma citizens who witnessed what happened to people doomed to die. The result of the project is an exhibition that perfectly combines different dimensions of this tragic event and its meaning for today.
Ukrainian Center for Holocaust Studies took part in preparing and editing the Ukrainian and Russian versions of the exhibition. With the organizers’ kind permission, the exhibition is located on “The Genocide of Roma (Gypsies) during the occupation of Ukraine (1941-1944): Research, Teaching, and Commemoration” website. It is made for everyone interested in this subject, especially Ukrainian Roma, and for scholars, teachers and people who are interested in Roma history on the territories of Ukraine during the Second World War.
Details...

"Holocaust and Modernity. Studies in Ukraine and the World" 1 (14) 2016

The Ukrainian Center for Holocaust Studies is pleased to announce new 1 (14) 2016 issue of the interdisciplinary scholarly journal "Holocaust and Modernity. Studies in Ukraine and the World".
More...

Call for participation in an educational course for students and young researchers “Genocide of Jews in Europe: Historical Perspective and Approaches” (Kyiv - Berlin, May - November 2017)

Ukrainian Center for Holocaust Studies in cooperation with the Museum and Memorial “House of the Wannsee Conference” announces the call for participants in the educational course "Genocide of Jews in Europe: Historical Perspective and Approaches". The educational course will take place in May - November 2017 and will consist of a training seminar in Kiev on 26-28 May 2017 , a distance training course and a final trip to the Museum and Memorial “House of the Wannsee Conference” around September 2017.
Students, postgraduate students of Ukrainian universities and young researchers (under the age of 30) who have a clearly expressed and confirmed research interest in various aspects of the genocide of Jews during World War II can participate in the educational course. Historical research and interdisciplinary approaches to the subject (eg. psychology, philosophy, cultural studies, etc.) are welcome.

Ukrainian Center for Holocaust Studies is glad to present the websites of the project "Protecting Memory"

The project "Protecting Memory" (starting in Ukraine in 2010) is dedicated to the still little-known chapter of Nazi policy of extermination: it investigates mass shootings of Jews in the occupied territories of Eastern Europe, which are in the darkness of oblivion. The project, however, is dedicated to marking and protecting evidences of these crimes - the mass graves in Ukraine, which became the last resting place for more than a million Jews - making them worthy memorial places. To this end, memorials have been built in five west Ukrainian locations - Bakhiv, Kyslylyn, Ostrozhets, Prokhid and Rava-Ruska. Now the project continues in selected localities of Vinnytsia and Zhytomyr regions. UCHS with partners participated in the creation of a special project website. We are pleased to announce the results of this work.
Ukrainian project website: http://protecting-memory-ua.org/
General project website in Ukrainian, German and English: http://www.protecting-memory.org//

New publications by Ukrainian Center for Holocaust Studies

In the series “Library of the Holocaust Memoirs” of UCHS the Ukrainian edition of the diary by Michael Diment, a native from the village Svynyuhy (now Pryvitne, Lokachy region, Volhyn oblast) who survived the Holocaust in Volhyn, was published. In the 1970s and 1980s the diary was translated from Yiddish into English by his son Shmuel Yahalom. “The Lone Survivor: A Diary of the Lukacze Ghetto and Svyniukhy” , edited by Shalom Yahalom (Diment), Ukrainian Center for Holocaust Studies, 2016, 200 p.
Details (in Ukrainian)...
A collection of articles „The Genocide of Roma during the occupation of Ukraine (1941 – 1944): Research, Teaching and Commemoration. Proceedings of the research-practical conference in Kyiv, October 4, 2016”, Ukrainian Center for Holocaust Studies, 2016, 230 p. was published.
Details (in Ukrainian)...

A Letter of Concern by Ukrainian Historians Regarding
the Plans to Construct the Babi Yar Holocaust Memorial Center

On September 28, 2016, during the commemoration of the 75th anniversary of Babyn Yar tragedy in Kyiv a plan was announced to create Babi Yar Holocaust Memorial Center ( http://prostir.museum/ua/post/38005). The project was initiated by Russian billionaires of Ukrainian descent Pavlo Fuks, Mykhaylo Fridman, Herman Khan and a Ukrainian oligarch Viktor Pinchuk.
In early February 2017, in Kyiv an expert meeting took place, gathering Holocaust historians, mostly from abroad, to discuss the concept of the future memorial ( http://www.istpravda.com.ua/short/2017/02/13/149532/).
Based on the information available to the public, the project has raised a number of considerable concerns from the well-known Ukrainian historians specializing in Ukrainian-Jewish history, the Holocaust, World War II, historical memory and interethnic relations. Their reasoning was laid out in a common letter, addressed to their colleagues chosen as experts of the Memorial Center.
Below you can find the full text of that letter...

Dear colleagues!

From now on, the website of the Public Committee for commemorating of Babyn Yar victims offers the virtual exhibition «Babyn Yar: Memory against History’s Background». The virtual exhibition is created based on the materials of the multimedia exhibition, which was conducted in the Kyiv History Museum from September 15 to November 27, 2016, dedicated to the 75th anniversary of the Babyn Yar tragedy. The exhibition is available in Ukrainian and in English, is completely interactive, and is supplemented with a video guide in Ukrainian.
The project was implemented by the Kyiv History Museum and the Public Committee «Babyn Yar», with support from the Ukrainian Institute of National Remembrance and the Canadian Charity “Ukrainian Jewish Encounter Initiative”.
This exhibition includes materials from the collections of the All-Ukrainian Jewish Council and of the Museum «Heroism and Holocaust», the Central State CinePhotoPhono Archives of Ukraine named after H. Pshenychnyi, the Ukrainian National Information Agency «Ukrinform», the National Museum of the History of Ukraine, the Ukrainian Center for Holocaust Studies, the NaUKMA Center for Studies of History and Culture of East European Jewry, the Departmental State Archives of the Security Service of Ukraine, Oleh Olzhych Foundation, and from private collections.
The author and curator of the project is Vitaliy Nakhmanovych, leading researcher of the Kyiv History Museum, executive secretary of the Public Committee «Babyn Yar».
To visit the virtual exhibition please follow the link below: http://memory.kby.kiev.ua/

In frames of honoring the 75th anniversary of Babyn Yar tragedy a conference under the title “Roma Genocide in Ukraine during WWII: research, teaching, commemoration” was held by UCHS on 4.10.2016. The conference was held in cooperation with Ukrainian Institute of National Memory, National Museum of the History of Ukraine in the Second World War, the Hrushevsky Institute for Ukrainian Archeography and Source Studies, the International Renaissance Foundation and under the support of the Foundation “Remembrance, Responsibility, Future”.
More details (in Ukrainian)
Program (in Ukrainian)

Annual Educational Seminar-School in Holocaust Studies and Teaching about the Holocaust, Chernivtsi 2016

Ukrainian Center for Holocaust Studies, in cooperation with Yad Vashem (Jerusalem) and under the support of the Embassy of the State of Israel to Ukraine, Vaad of Ukraine and the Eurasian Jewish Congress held on 30 June – 5 July 2016 the annual seminar-school in Holocaust studies and teaching about the Holocaust. This year the seminar took place in Chernivtsi.
Owing to the support by EAJC it was possible to invite colleagues-teachers from Belarus, Moldova and Kyrgyzstan to participate. All in all, out of 70 applications 30 teachers were invited to take part, representing 13 regions of Ukraine.
The week-long studies included lectures, workshops, guided tours, discussions and film viewing. The content was provided by famous historians and education professionals from Ukraine and Israel.
Photos

On occasion of the International Holocaust Remembrance Day
The 9th Annual Round Table Discussion
"Holocaust Commemoration and the Ukrainian Society: Research and Educational Aspects"

On 27 January 2016 a round table discussion for teachers, researchers and students "Holocaust Commemoration and the Ukrainian Society: Research and Educational Aspects" took place in Kyiv. It was traditionally organized by Ukrainian Center for Holocaust Studies and Goethe-Institut in Ukraine under the support of the Embassy of the State of Israel in Ukraine. This event was targeted at encouraging public discussion on the Holocaust commemoration in the Ukrainian society, fostering research and teaching about the Holocaust in Ukraine.

During the round table participants could hear presentations in three sessions:

Session I. Holocaust and Genocide Studies in Ukraine: Challenges of Integration into the National Historical Narrative;

Session II. Teaching about the Holocaust as a Part of Ukrainian History: Challenges and Perspectives;

Session III. Historical Memory about the Holocaust and Genocide in Ukraine. Issues of its Compatibility with National Memorial Narrative.

The presentations by invited speakers were followed by questions and discussions.
Moreover, the participants and guests of the round table could attend a play "Valiza" (Walizka/The Suitcase) by M. Sikorska-Miszczuk staged by "Nash Teatr" (Our Theater) theater group and a screening of a documentary “Farewell Herr Schwartz” (“Schnee von Gestern”) followed by a discussion with film director Yael Reuveny (Israel/Germany).
Programme (in English)... Photos

"Holocaust and Modernity. Studies in Ukraine and the World" 1 (13) 2015

The Ukrainian Center for Holocaust Studies is pleased to announce new 1 (13) 2015 issue of the interdisciplinary scholarly journal "Holocaust and Modernity. Studies in Ukraine and the World".
More..

“Jewish Children of Ukraine – Victims of the Holocaust” Exhibition in Kherson Region
December

The city of Tsuriupynsk, Kherson oblast, namely Tsuriupynsk School # 2 with advanced foreign language learning hosted on 7-12 December the exhibition “Jewish Children of Ukraine – Victims of the Holocaust”, a local Ukrainian constituent of the “Anne Frank – a History for Today” exhibit. The event was initiated by the Resource Center for Civic Education functioning in school # 2 (headed by N. Kolpachenko). Ukrainian Center for Holocaust Studies provided the exhibition panels and peer-guide training (done by N. Ufimtseva). Over the week the exhibition was visited by about 800 students and teachers from the city and the area. The guided tours were provided by 7-8th grade students of the hosting school. They noted the significance of such an experience for them. And their visitors too could learn about the tragic and heroic fate of Ukrainian Jews during WWII, not least about the examples of saving actions by local Ukrainians.
See school web-site (in Ukrainian) for more info.
Photos

"Holocaust and Modernity. Studies in Ukraine and the World" 1 (15) 2017

The Ukrainian Center for Holocaust Studies is pleased to announce new 1 (15) 2017 issue of the interdisciplinary scholarly journal "Holocaust and Modernity. Studies in Ukraine and the World".
More...

Announcement of the 18th All-Ukrainian I.B. Medvinsky Competition of Students’ Research and Art Works “History and Lessons of the Holocaust”, 2017 - 2018 academic year

The Ukrainian Center for Holocaust Studies under the support of the Euro-Asian Jewish Congress and the Embassy of the State of Israel in Ukraine announces call for papers by students of Ukrainian secondary schools for the annual contest of research and creative papers «History and Lessons of the Holocaust» named after I. B. Medvinsky in the 2017-2018 academic year.

Applications must be submitted by February 10, 2018.
Completed papers must be submitted by April 10, 2018.
The presentation of papers will be held in the end of May 2018 in Kyiv. Details (in Ukrainian)

Bulletin «Lessons of the Holocaust», ¹4 (52), 2017

Dear colleagues! The fresh issue of information-pedagogical bulletin of UCHS «Lessons of the Holocaust», ¹4 (52), September - December 2017, has been published.
Download (in Ukrainian)

A New Edition of Ukrainian Center for Holocaust Studies: Michael Hauptman «Forgotten Tombs»

A new publication within the «Library of the Holocaust Memoirs» series appeared. It is the memories of Michael Hauptman titled «Forgotten Graves» (Hauptman Michael, Forgotten Graves / trans. from Polish A. Sharyi, Ukrainian Center for Holocaust Studies. – Kyiv: Phoenix Publishing House, 2017. – 175 p.). Translation and publication of the book became possible owing to the support of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, the Representative office in Ukraine (Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung).
In his memoirs Michael Hauptman (1916-1990) recollects the history of the murder of Jewish communities of Skhidnytsia and Urych in Eastern Galicia. The most important thing about this book is that it was written not by an outside observer, but by a person who managed to survive in the epicenter of the Holocaust. For the rest of his life Hauptman was forced to bear the burden of memory of the death of many relatives and neighbors in the summer of 1941, the direct witness of which he was. We hope that these memories will encourage a thoughtful reader to think about the pain of loss, the thirst for life and the search for justice.
More details (in Ukrainian)

The 12th Annual Educational and Methodical Fellowship in Holocaust Studies for Ukrainian Teachers at Yad Vashem

On November 19-27 , 2017 the 12th annual educational and methodological seminar for Ukrainian educators on teaching about the Holocaust in secondary schools was held at the International School for Holocaust Studies (ISHS) in Yad Vashem, Jerusalem. It was organized in cooperation with the Ukrainian Center for Holocaust Studies (UCHS). This year 16 Ukrainian teachers and 2 educators from Belarus participated in the training course. An important and significant part of 2017 seminar was the presentation of the first common publication of UCHS and Yad Vashem, «The Daughter We Have Always Wanted. The Story of Marta», that was published in Ukrainian in November 2017. It
was significant also because the main character of the book, Marta Goren, took part in the presentation. This year's seminar for Ukrainian teachers was held under the support of the Euro-Asian Jewish Congress, the Association of Jewish Organizations and Communities of Ukraine and the Embassy of the State of Israel in Ukraine.

A new edition in the «Library of the Holocaust Memoirs» series: The Story of Marta

Ukrainian Center for Holocaust Studies is pleased to present a new edition of the «Library of the Holocaust Memoirs» series. «The Daughter we have always wanted. The story of Marta» is the first edition of the Center, which has been adapted for readers over 10 years old. The original book was created by Yad Vashem and the Ukrainian version appeared upon the initiative of the NGO «Helsinki Initiative-XXI» – localized in Chortkiv, Marta’s birthtown. Thanks to Tigran Sogoyan, this story talks to us not only through text and family photos, but also through wonderful illustrations.
«The Daughter we have always wanted. The story of Marta » is a story of a Jewish child who clung to life despite terrible loss and subsequently found herself in the State of Israel.
See the book (in Ukrainian)

The problem of adequate commemoration of the victims of Babyn Yar has recently become a subject of fierce public debates. Lack of a comprehensive vision and scientific approaches, lack of public compromise and state responsibility prevent dealing with it proprely.

In 2016 two significant projects were implemented jointly by a number of scientific, state and public organizations: the International Architectural Ideas Competition for Complex Integration of Memorial Area in Kyiv «Babyn Yar – Dorogozhytsky Necropolis» and the multimedia exhibition «Babyn Yar: Memory against History’s Background ».
More details (in Ukrainian)

To the anniversary of the tragedy of Babyn Yar (1941-2017)
The 2nd edition of the scientific collection «Babyn Yar: History and Memory of a Massacre» was published.

Babyn Yar is a place in Kyiv, which still remains a sad symbol of the policy of genocide of Nazi Germany and memory manipulation inherent to the Soviet Union, as well as a vivid example of the current state of memory about the war in the modern Ukrainian society.
This book is a collection of materials of an international conference, which was held to analyze purely historical aspects of repressive policies towards various groups of the population (Jews, Roma, representatives of the Ukrainian nationalist movement, Soviet prisoners of war and civilians) for whom Babyn Yar has become a mass grave, as well as post-war and modern problems related to the commemoration of the dead in the context of ambiguous attitude to the past from various parts of Ukrainian society.
See the book (in Ukrainian).

On August 20-21 the first working meeting took place in a new project about the creation of a teaching guide for the virtual exhibition « Babyn Yar: Memory against History’s Background » ( http://memory.kby.kiev.ua/
)
Researchers of the culture of memory in Ukraine, teachers and methodologists from Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities take part in the project. During the scheduled workshops the participants will discuss methods, educational blocks and structure of the teaching guide. Besides, they prepare materials for the future edition. The project is carried out by Ukrainian Center for Holocaust Studies and the Babyn Yar Civic Committee under the financial support of the Ukrainian Institute of National Remembrance and the «Ukrainian-Jewish Encounter Foundation».
Photos

Seminar in Vinnytsia in the frames of the project «Protecting Memory» (August 14-17, 2017)

On August 14-17 the second in-depth educational and methodological seminar for teachers took place. During the seminar, the participants attended lectures about the history of the Holocaust, peculiarities of Nazi antisemitic propaganda. Also they presented their own projects, discussed the difficulties of their implementation and possible ways of overcoming these difficulties. Moreover, the participants who took part in the previous stage of the project «Protecting Memory» presented their gains, shared their experience and gave some advice. A special day was devoted to visiting the places of Jewish heritage and the Holocaust in and around Berdychiv. Currently, the project continues for the selected sites of Vinnytsia and Zhytomyr oblasts.
Photos

Entangled history as a perspective for non-formal education

Krzy?owa Foundation for Mutual Understanding in Europe under the support of Erasmus+ have held a training for educators and multiplies under the title “Entangled history as a perspective for non-formal education”. 2 participants from Poland, Germany and Ukraine have come together to develop a number of workshops for a guidebook using the “entangled history” methodology. During the meeting the group got to know each other better, discussed their national memorial narratives and specificities of education about the Holocaust, learned more about the “entangled history” methodology and found out about the activities of Krzy?owa Foundation. UCHS is happy to be one of the program partner-organizations in 2017.
Photos

Educational course for students and young researchers “Genocide of Jews in Europe: Historical Perspectives and Approaches” (Kyiv - Berlin, May - November 2017). Kyiv seminar.

On 26-28 May 2017 the first stage of the course was held – an educational and methodological seminar in Kyiv. 15 participants from Kyiv, Lviv, Dnipro, Ivano-Frankivsk, Khmelnitskyi, Kharkiv, Rivne took part in an intensive program that included lectures, discussions, excursions and presentations of research projects. Now a distance training course continues from June to August.
The course is organized by Ukrainian Center for Holocaust Studies in cooperation with the Museum and Memorial “House of the Wannsee Conference” under the support of Embassy of Germany in Ukraine.
Photo gallery

XVII All-Ukrainian I.B. Medvinsky Competition of Students’ Research and Art Works “History and Lessons of the Holocaust”, school year 2016-2017

The XVII All-Ukrainian I.B. Medvinsky Competition of Students’ Research and Art Works “History and Lessons of the Holocaust” for academic year 2016-2017 took place on 19-21 May 2017. It was organized by Ukrainian Center for Holocaust Studies with the support from the Eurasian Jewish Congress, The Association of Jewish Organizations and Communities (VAAD) of Ukraine and the Embassy of the State of Israel to Ukraine. Students from 14 regions of Ukraine together with counterparts from Belarus, Moldova and Kyrgyzstan participated in the competition. More than 130 works were submitted to the competition, 64 of them were approved for the public presentation in Kyiv.
Photos
List of awards (in Ukrainian)